GREENFIELD — A woman who had been allowed to leave jail to await trial on multiple felony drug charges was supposed to be in court Thursday to hear details of a plea agreement that would have ended her case.
She didn’t show up. The reason: She was in jail in another county, recently arrested on new felony drug charges.
Now, her pretrial release has been rescinded, along with the possible plea agreement. If the judge has his way, the woman will be returned to Hancock County and jailed, ending any likelihood of a lenient sentence in her Hancock County case.
Michelle Catt, 50, had been facing 11 Hancock County drug charges, including a Level 2 Felony count of dealing methamphetamine. The charges stemmed from an arrest in 2018 after she was accused of selling drugs at a hotel in Greenfield. Catt was released on a $3,000 bond and placed on pretrial home detention. Catt was awaiting trial in Garrett in DeKalb County, where she lives.
While awaiting her plea hearing for the charges in Greenfield, Catt was arrested during a June drug bust that netted three arrests. She was charged with a Level 2 felony charge of dealing methamphetamine; a Level 3 felony charge of possession of methamphetamine; a Level 6 felony charge of unlawful possession of a syringe; and two misdemeanor drug charges.
She was sitting in the DeKalb County Jail Thursday when she was supposed to be in Hancock Circuit Court, officials from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department said. She’s scheduled for a pretrial conference on her most recent charges on Aug. 12 in DeKalb County.
Upon learning of Catt’s new charges, Circuit Court Judge Scott Sirk revoked the $3,000 bond and issued an arrest warrant to have her brought back to the Hancock County jail to face the 11 drug charges pending here.
The plea agreement, details of which not were released, was withdrawn by Marie Castetter, deputy prosecutor Thursday afternoon.
Catt once again is facing up to 30 years in prison for the most serious charge stemming from her Greenfield arrest. That case also includes a Level 4 felony charge for possession of methamphetamine, which carries a sentence of up to 12 years in prison; and four Level 6 felonies, each carrying a sentence of up to 2½ years in prison. She also faces five misdemeanor charges.
Deputy prosecutor David Thornburg, said in an email to the Daily Reporter that he has not decided what the prosecutor’s office is going to do with the previous plea deal he had offered.
“I am probably going to be in touch with DeKalb County and see what they are doing with their case,” Thornburg said.
Catt was arrested April 1, 2018, in Greenfield after officers with the Greenfield Police Department accused her of selling drugs at the hotel on the north side of Greenfield. She was placed on pretrial home detention in July of 2018.
